1850 in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
 1850 in the United Kingdom: |
| Other years |
| 1848 1848 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1848 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:... | 1849 1849 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1849 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:* 13 January — Second Anglo-Sikh War: British forces retreat from the Battle of Chillianwala.... | 1850 | 1851 1851 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1851 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Lord John Russell, Liberal-Events:... | 1852 1852 in the United Kingdom Events from the year 1852 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Earl Russell, Liberal , Earl of Derby, Conservative , Earl of Aberdeen, Peelite-Events:... |
| Sport |
| 1850 English cricket season 1850 English cricket season The 1850 English cricket season saw the re-emergence of Middlesex as a county team, largely through the interest of the Walker family that eventually founded the present Middlesex club.-First-class matches:* -Leading batsmen:... |
Events from the year 1850 in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Incumbents
- Monarch — Queen Victoria
- Prime Minister — Lord John RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
, LiberalLiberal Party (UK)The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...
Events
- 5 March — Opening of Robert StephensonRobert StephensonRobert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
's Britannia BridgeBritannia BridgeBritannia Bridge is a bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales. It was originally designed and built by Robert Stephenson as a tubular bridge of wrought iron rectangular box-section spans for carrying rail traffic...
carrying the Chester and Holyhead RailwayChester and Holyhead RailwayThe Chester and Holyhead Railway was incorporated out of a proposal to link Holyhead, the traditional port for the Irish Mail, with London by way of the existing Chester and Crewe Railway, and what is now the West Coast Main Line...
across the Menai StraitMenai StraitThe Menai Strait is a narrow stretch of shallow tidal water about long, which separates the island of Anglesey from the mainland of Wales.The strait is bridged in two places - the main A5 road is carried over the strait by Thomas Telford's elegant iron suspension bridge, the first of its kind,...
between the island of AngleseyAngleseyAnglesey , also known by its Welsh name Ynys Môn , is an island and, as Isle of Anglesey, a county off the north west coast of Wales...
and the mainland of WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. - 31 March — The paddle steamerPaddle steamerA paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
, bound from CorkCork (city)Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
to LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, sinks off MargateMargate-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
with the loss of all 250 on board. - 4 April — North London Collegiate SchoolNorth London Collegiate SchoolNorth London Collegiate School is an independent day school for girls founded in 1850 in Camden Town, and now in the London Borough of Harrow.The Good Schools Guide called the school an "Academically stunning outer London school in a glorious setting which, in 2003, demonstrated its refusal to rest...
for girls established in new premises with Frances BussFrances BussFrances Mary Buss was a headmistress and an English pioneer of women's education.The daughter of Robert William Buss, a painter and etcher, and his wife, Frances Fleetwood, Buss was one of six of their ten children to survive into adulthood...
as Principal. - 19 April — Clayton-Bulwer TreatyClayton-Bulwer TreatyThe Clayton–Bulwer Treaty was a treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom, negotiated in 1850 by John M. Clayton and Sir Henry Lytton Bulwer, later Lord Dalling...
signed between the United Kingdom and the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
agreeing that neither nation is to colonize or control any Central AmericaCentral AmericaCentral America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n republic. The purpose is to prevent one country from building a canalCanalCanals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
across the isthmus that the other would not be able to use. - 3 July — The Koh-i-NoorKoh-i-NoorThe Kōh-i Nūr which means "Mountain of Light" in Persian, also spelled Koh-i-noor, Koh-e Noor or Koh-i-Nur, is a 105 carat diamond that was once the largest known diamond in the world. The Kōh-i Nūr originated in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India along with its double, the Darya-ye Noor...
diamond is presented to Queen Victoria. - 5 August — Colonies of New South WalesNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, and VictoriaVictoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
granted representative government. - 14 August — Irish Franchise Act increases the rural electorate in Ireland.
- 27 August — A telegraph cableSubmarine communications cableA submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean....
is laid beneath the English ChannelEnglish ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
running from DoverDoverDover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
to Cap Gris NezCap Gris NezCap Gris Nez is a cape on the Côte d'Opale in the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France....
in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - 29 September — By the BullPapal bullA Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
Universalis EcclesiaeUniversalis EcclesiaeUniversalis Ecclesiae is the incipit of the papal bull of 29 September 1850 by which Pope Pius IX recreated the Roman Catholic diocesan hierarchy in England, which had been extinguished with the death of the last Marian bishop in the reign of Elizabeth I. New names were given to the dioceses, as...
, Pope Pius IXPope Pius IXBlessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
recreates the Roman Catholic hierarchy in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, which had become extinct with the death of the last MarianMary I of EnglandMary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
bishop in the reign of Elizabeth IElizabeth I of EnglandElizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
. - 22–3 October — First Wenlock Olympian Class GamesWenlock Olympian Society Annual GamesThe Wenlock Olympian Society Annual Games, dating from 1850, are a forerunner of the modern Olympic Games. They are held each year in Much Wenlock in Shropshire, England.-Overview:...
held at Much WenlockMuch WenlockMuch Wenlock, earlier known as Wenlock, is a small town in central Shropshire, England. It is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the northeast, is the Ironbridge Gorge, and the new town of Telford...
, ShropshireShropshireShropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. - 17 October — James Young patents a method of distilling paraffinParaffinIn chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
from coal, laying the foundations for the ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
paraffin industry. - November — Salford Museum and Art GallerySalford Museum and Art GallerySalford Museum and Art Gallery, in Peel Park, Salford, Greater Manchester, first opened to the public in November 1850 as the "Royal Museum & Public Library". One of the most important appreciation is that it serves as the first public library in the UK to provide free access to people...
first opens as "The Royal Museum & Public Library", the first unconditionally free public library in England, established under the Museums Act 1845Museums Act 1845The Museums Act 1845 was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which gave the town councils of larger municipal boroughs the power to establish museums.-Historical background:...
. - 19 November — Alfred TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
appointed as Poet LaureatePoet LaureateA poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
.
Undated
- Don Pacifico incident: Lord PalmerstonHenry Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
, the Foreign Secretary, sends a Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
squadron to the Aegean SeaAegean SeaThe Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
in defence of the interests of a British citizen, causing a diplomatic incident with RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He defends his action robustly in ParliamentParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
on 29 June. - Public Libraries ActPublic Libraries Act 1850The Public Libraries Act 1850 was an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which first gave local boroughs the power to establish free public libraries...
, Interpretation ActInterpretation Act 1850The Interpretation Act 1850 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed in 1850 that simplified the language that was used in statutes. It was also known as Lord Brougham's Act, and its long title was An Act for shortening the Language used in Acts of Parliament...
, Police of Scotland Act and Factory Act passed by parliamentParliament of the United KingdomThe Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
. - Bingley HallBingley HallBingley Hall in Birmingham was the first purpose-built exhibition hall in Great Britain. It was built in 1850 and burned down in 1984. The International Convention Centre now stands on the site....
, the world's first purpose-built permanent exhibition hall, opens in BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
. - The bowler hatBowler hatThe bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
is created for Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of LeicesterThomas Coke, 2nd Earl of LeicesterThomas William Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester KG , known as Viscount Coke from 1837 to 1842, was a British peer....
.
Publications
- Elizabeth Barrett BrowningElizabeth Barrett BrowningElizabeth Barrett Browning was one of the most prominent poets of the Victorian era. Her poetry was widely popular in both England and the United States during her lifetime. A collection of her last poems was published by her husband, Robert Browning, shortly after her death.-Early life:Members...
's collection Sonnets from the PortugueseSonnets from the PortugueseSonnets from the Portuguese, written ca. 1845–1846 and first published in 1850, is a collection of forty-four love sonnets written by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. The poems largely chronicle the period leading up to her 1846 marriage to Robert Browning...
containing the well-known poem which begins "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways." - Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' novel David CopperfieldDavid Copperfield (novel)The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery , commonly referred to as David Copperfield, is the eighth novel by Charles Dickens, first published as a novel in 1850. Like most of his works, it originally appeared in serial...
complete in book form. - Alfred TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron TennysonAlfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson, FRS was Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom during much of Queen Victoria's reign and remains one of the most popular poets in the English language....
's poem In Memoriam A.H.H.In Memoriam A.H.H.In Memoriam A.H.H. is a poem by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, completed in 1849. It is a requiem for the poet's Cambridge friend Arthur Henry Hallam, who died suddenly of a cerebral haemorrhage in Vienna in 1833...
. - The GermThe Germ (periodical)The Germ was a periodical established by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood to disseminate their ideas. It was not a success, only existing for four issues between January and April 1850....
, periodical of the Pre-Raphaelite BrotherhoodPre-Raphaelite BrotherhoodThe Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was a group of English painters, poets, and critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti...
edited by William Michael RossettiWilliam Michael RossettiWilliam Michael Rossetti was an English writer and critic.-Biography:Born in London, he was a son of immigrant Italian scholar Gabriele Rossetti, and the brother of Maria Francesca Rossetti, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Georgina Rossetti.He was one of the seven founder members of the...
(four issues, January–April, the last two retitled Art and Poetry).
Births
- 4 January — Frederick York PowellFrederick York PowellFrederick York Powell , was an English historian and scholar.- Biography :Frederick York Powell was born in Bloomsbury, London. Much of his childhood was spent in France and Spain, so that he early acquired a mastery of the language of both countries and an insight into the genius of the people...
, historian and scholar (died 19041904 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1904 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Arthur Balfour, Conservative-Events:* 1 January - Number plates are introduced as cars are licensed for the first time...
) - 15 January — Leonard DarwinLeonard DarwinMajor Leonard Darwin , a son of the English naturalist Charles Darwin, was variously a soldier, politician, economist, eugenicist and mentor of the statistician and evolutionary biologist Ronald Fisher.- Biography :...
, son of the naturalist Charles Darwin (died 19431943 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1943 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War II.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Prime Minister – Winston Churchill, coalition-Events:* 1 January – Utility furniture first becomes available....
) - 19 January — Augustine BirrellAugustine BirrellAugustine Birrell PC, KC was an English politician, barrister, academic and author. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916, resigning in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising.-Early life:...
, author and politician (died 19331933 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1933 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, national coalition-Events:* January - The London Underground diagram designed by Harry Beck is introduced to the public....
) - 27 January — John CollierJohn Collier (artist)The Honourable John Maler Collier OBE RP ROI , called 'Jack' by his family and friends, was a leading English artist, and an author. He painted in the Pre-Raphaelite style, and was one of the most prominent portrait painters of his generation. Both his marriages were to daughters of Thomas Henry...
, writer and painter (died 19341934 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1934 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, national coalition-Events:...
) - 27 January — Edward Smith, Captain of the Titanic (died 19121912 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1912 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H. Asquith, Liberal-Events:* 1 January - Post Office takes over National Telephone Company....
) - 29 January — Ebenezer HowardEbenezer HowardSir Ebenezer Howard is known for his publication Garden Cities of To-morrow , the description of a utopian city in which people live harmoniously together with nature. The publication resulted in the founding of the garden city movement, that realized several Garden Cities in Great Britain at the...
, urban planner (died 19281928 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1928 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 18 February — George HenschelGeorge HenschelSir George Henschel , was a British baritone, pianist, conductor, and composer of German birth....
, musician (died 19341934 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1934 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, national coalition-Events:...
) - 9 March — Hamo ThornycroftHamo ThornycroftSir William "Hamo" Thornycroft, RA was a British sculptor, responsible for several London landmarks.-Biography:...
, sculptor (died 19251925 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1925 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 9 April — Julius WernherJulius WernherSir Julius Charles Wernher, 1st Baronet was a German-born Randlord and art collector who became part of the English establishment.-Life history:...
, German-born British businessman and art collector (died 19121912 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1912 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H. Asquith, Liberal-Events:* 1 January - Post Office takes over National Telephone Company....
) - 13 April — Arthur Matthew Weld DowningArthur Matthew Weld DowningArthur Matthew Weld Downing was a British astronomer.He was born in Carlow, Ireland.He became an assistant at the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1873. He became superintendent of HM Nautical Almanac Office from 1891 to 1910. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in June 1896 He...
, astronomer (died 19171917 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1917 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War I.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - David Lloyd George, coalition-Events:...
) - 16 April — Sidney Gilchrist ThomasSidney Gilchrist ThomasSidney Gilchrist Thomas was an English inventor.-Life:Thomas was born at Canonbury, London and was educated at Dulwich College....
, inventor (died 18851885 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1885 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal , Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
) - 26 April — Harry BatesHarry Bates (sculptor)Harry Bates A.R.A. , English sculptor, was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. Bates was elected to the Royal Academy in 1892 as A.R.A. and was an active, if intermittent, member of the Art Workers Guild. He was a central figure in the British movement known as the New Sculpture...
, sculptor (died 18991899 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1899 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:* 6 January — Lord Curzon becomes Viceroy of India....
) - 1 May — Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and StrathearnPrince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and StrathearnPrince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a member of the shared British and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha royal family who served as the Governor General of Canada, the 10th since Canadian Confederation.Born the seventh child and third son of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and...
, member of the Royal Family (died 19421942 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1942 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War II.-Incumbents:*Monarch – King George VI*Prime Minister – Winston Churchill, coalition-Events:...
) - 10 May — Thomas LiptonThomas LiptonSir Thomas Johnstone Lipton, 1st Baronet, KCVO was a Scotsman of Ulster-Scots parentage who was a self-made man, merchant, and yachtsman. He created the Lipton tea brand and was the most persistent challenger in the history of the America's Cup.-Parentage and childhood:Lipton was born in Glasgow...
, merchant and yachtsman (died 19311931 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1931 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, Labour and national coalition-Events:* 6 January - Sadler's Wells Theatre opens in London....
) - 12 May — Charles McLaren, 1st Baron AberconwayCharles McLaren, 1st Baron AberconwayCharles Benjamin Bright McLaren, 1st Baron Aberconway, PC, QC, JP , known as Sir Charles McLaren, 1st Baronet between 1902 and 1911, was a Scottish jurist and Liberal Party politician. He was a landowner and industrialist.-Education:Born in Edinburgh, McLaren was the son of the politician Duncan...
, Liberal politician and jurist (died 19341934 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1934 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, national coalition-Events:...
) - 18 May — Oliver HeavisideOliver HeavisideOliver Heaviside was a self-taught English electrical engineer, mathematician, and physicist who adapted complex numbers to the study of electrical circuits, invented mathematical techniques to the solution of differential equations , reformulated Maxwell's field equations in terms of electric and...
, engineer (died 19251925 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1925 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 26 May — James Kenyon, pioneer of cinematography (died 19251925 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1925 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 28 May — Frederic William MaitlandFrederic William MaitlandFrederic William Maitland was an English jurist and historian, generally regarded as the modern father of English legal history.-Biography:...
, jurist and historian (died 19061906 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1906 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII*Prime Minister - Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Liberal-Events:...
) - 2 June — Jesse Boot, 1st Baron TrentJesse Boot, 1st Baron TrentJesse Boot, 1st Baron Trent transformed The Boots Company, founded by his father, John Boot, into a national retailer, which branded itself as "Chemists to the Nation", before he sold out his controlling interest to American investors in 1920.John Boot offered his best friend, John Harston, the...
, businessman (died 19311931 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1931 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Ramsay MacDonald, Labour and national coalition-Events:* 6 January - Sadler's Wells Theatre opens in London....
) - 24 June — Horatio Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, field marshal and statesman (died 19161916 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1916 in the United Kingdom. This year is dominated by World War I.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - H. H...
) - 13 August — Philip Bourke MarstonPhilip Bourke MarstonPhilip Bourke Marston was an English poet.He was born in London. His father, John Westland Marston , wrote verse dramas, and was a friend of Dickens, Macready and Charles Kean. Philip's godparents were Philip James Bailey and Dinah Mulock...
, poet (died 18871887 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1887 in the United Kingdom. This is the Queen's Golden Jubilee year.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — Robert Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury, Conservative-Events:...
) - 14 August — W. W. Rouse BallW. W. Rouse Ball-External links:*...
, mathematician (died 19251925 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1925 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 9 September — Jane Ellen HarrisonJane Ellen HarrisonJane Ellen Harrison was a British classical scholar, linguist and feminist. Harrison is one of the founders, with Karl Kerenyi and Walter Burkert, of modern studies in Greek mythology. She applied 19th century archaeological discoveries to the interpretation of Greek religion in ways that have...
, classical scholar and feminist (died 19281928 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1928 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V*Prime Minister - Stanley Baldwin, Conservative-Events:...
) - 17 September — Cuthbert A. BreretonCuthbert A. BreretonCuthbert Arthur Brereton was a civil engineer and a partner of Sir John Wolfe Barry. Together they completed numerous projects in England and Wales, the most prominent being the King Edward VII Bridge over the Thames at Kew, London.Also with Barry he had been involved with the construction of...
, civil engineer (died 19101910 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1910 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King Edward VII , King George V*Prime Minister - H. H...
) - 18 October — Basil Hall ChamberlainBasil Hall ChamberlainBasil Hall Chamberlain was a professor of Tokyo Imperial University and one of the foremost British Japanologists active in Japan during the late 19th century. He also wrote some of the earliest translations of haiku into English...
, Japanologist (died 19351935 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1935 in the United Kingdom. This royal Silver Jubilee year sees a General Election and changes in the leadership of both the Conservative and Labour parties.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George V...
) - 13 November — Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
, writer (died 18941894 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1894 in the United Kingdom.-Incumbents:*Monarch — Queen Victoria*Prime Minister — William Ewart Gladstone, Liberal , Earl of Rosebery, Liberal-Events:...
) - 13 November — Sir John Benn, 1st Baronet, politician (died 19221922 in the United KingdomThe social and political problems of most prominence in the United Kingdom in 1922 showed a further departure from those that chiefly occupied public attention during World War I, and the country had by then almost returned to its normal condition...
) - 11 December — Mary Victoria HamiltonMary Victoria HamiltonLady Mary Victoria Douglas-Hamilton, also known as the Lady Mary Victoria Hamilton was the Lanarkshire-born, Scottish-German-French great-grandmother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, the fashion designer Prince Egon von Fürstenberg, the socialite and actress Princess Ira von Fürstenberg and the...
, Scottish-German-French great-grandmother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco (died 19221922 in the United KingdomThe social and political problems of most prominence in the United Kingdom in 1922 showed a further departure from those that chiefly occupied public attention during World War I, and the country had by then almost returned to its normal condition...
) - 24 December — Brandon ThomasBrandon ThomasWalter Brandon Thomas was an English actor, playwright and song writer, best known as the author of the farce Charley's Aunt....
, actor and playwright (died 19141914 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1914 in the United Kingdom. This year sees the start of World War I.-Incumbents:* Monarch - King George V* Prime Minister - H. H...
)
Deaths
- 26 January — Francis JeffreyFrancis JeffreyFrancis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey was a Scottish judge and literary critic.He was born in Edinburgh, the son of a clerk in the Court of Session. After attending the Royal High School for six years, he studied at the University of Glasgow from 1787 to May 1789, and at Queen's College, Oxford, from...
, judge and literary critic (born 17731773 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1773 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 17 January - Captain James Cook becomes the first European explorer to cross the Antarctic Circle....
) - 13 March — Owen StanleyOwen StanleyCaptain Owen Stanley FRS RN was a British Royal Navy officer and surveyor.-Life:Stanley was born in Alderley, Cheshire the son of Edward Stanley, rector of Alderley and later Bishop of Norwich...
, naval officer and explorer of New Guinea (born 18111811 in the United KingdomEvents from the year 1811 in the United Kingdom. This is a Census year and the start of the British Regency.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Spencer Perceval, Tory-Events:...
) - 7 April — William Lisle BowlesWilliam Lisle BowlesWilliam Lisle Bowles was an English poet and critic.-Life and career:He was born at King's Sutton, Northamptonshire, where his father was vicar. At the age of fourteen he entered Winchester College, the headmaster at the time being Dr Joseph Warton...
, poet and critic (born 17621762 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1762 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Duke of Newcastle, Whig , Earl of Bute, Tory-Events:* January - The "Cock Lane ghost" appears in London....
) - 9 April — William ProutWilliam ProutWilliam Prout FRS was an English chemist, physician, and natural theologian. He is remembered today mainly for what is called Prout's hypothesis.-Biography:...
, chemist and physician (born 17851785 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1785 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - George III of the United Kingdom*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 23 April — William WordsworthWilliam WordsworthWilliam Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, poet (born 17701770 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1770 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Duke of Grafton, Whig , Lord North, Tory-Events:...
) - 24 May — Jane PorterJane PorterJane Porter was a Scottish historical novelist and dramatist.-Life and work:Jane Porter was an avid reader. Said to rise at four in the morning in order to read and write, she read the whole of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene while still a child...
, novelist (born 17761776 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1776 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 10 January – American Revolution: Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense ....
) - 9 June — John Green CrosseJohn Green CrosseJohn Green Crosse, FRCS, FRS was a well known surgeon of his day at the old Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.Crosse was born on 6 September 1790 in Suffolk, the son of a farmer by the name of William, of Boyton Hall, Great Finborough. Crosse died on 9 June 1850 and is buried in the cloisters of...
, surgeon (born 17901790 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1790 in the Kingdom of Great Britain. This is a General Election year.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 2 July — Robert PeelRobert PeelSir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet was a British Conservative statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 December 1834 to 8 April 1835, and again from 30 August 1841 to 29 June 1846...
, Prime Minister of the United KingdomPrime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
(born 17881788 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1788 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 4 July — William Kirby, entomologist (born 17591759 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1759 in Great Britain. The year was dubbed an Annus Mirabilis due to a succession of military victories in the Seven Years' War against French-led opponents.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George II...
) - 7 July — Timothy HackworthTimothy HackworthTimothy Hackworth was a steam locomotive engineer who lived in Shildon, County Durham, England and was the first locomotive superintendent of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.- Youth and early work :...
, steam locomotive engineer (born 17861786 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1786 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 8 July — Prince Adolphus, Duke of CambridgePrince Adolphus, Duke of CambridgeThe Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge , was the tenth child and seventh son of George III and Queen Charlotte. He held the title of Duke of Cambridge from 1801 until his death. He also served as Viceroy of Hanover on behalf of his brothers George IV and William IV...
, member of the Royal Family (born 17741774 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1774 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 31 March - American Revolutionary War: Britain orders the port of Boston, Massachusetts closed in the Boston Port Act.* 17 April - The first avowedly Unitarian congregation,...
) - 12 July — Robert StevensonRobert Stevenson (civil engineer)Robert Stevenson FRSE MInstCE FSAS MWS FGS FRAS FSA was a Scottish civil engineer and famed designer and builder of lighthouses.One of his finest achievements was the construction of the Bell Rock Lighthouse.-Early life:...
, lighthouse engineer (born 17721772 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1772 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 24 March - Royal Marriages Act 1772 requires the monarch's consent for the marriage of all members of the royal family.* 28 May - Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal open...
) - 27 August — Thomas Kidd, classical scholar and schoolmaster (born 17701770 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1770 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Duke of Grafton, Whig , Lord North, Tory-Events:...
) - 2 September — Charles Watkin Williams-Wynn, Tory politician (born 17751775 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1775 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord North, Tory-Events:* 17 January - First performance of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals at the Covent Garden Theatre in London.* 9 February - American Revolution: British Parliament...
) - 2 October — Sarah BiffenSarah BiffenSarah Biffen , also known as Biffin or Beffin, was a Victorian English painter born with no arms. She was 94 cms tall.-Life and work:...
, painter (born 17841784 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1784 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
) - 4 December
- Robert GilfillanRobert GilfillanRobert Gilfillan was a poet and songwriter, born at Dunfermline, Scotland, and latterly a collector of the police rates at Leith. He wrote a number of Scottish songs, and was favourably mentioned in Noctes Ambrosianae...
, poet (born 17981798 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1798 in Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:* May–September - Irish Rebellion: Irish rebels stage an uprising against British rule....
) - William SturgeonWilliam SturgeonWilliam Sturgeon was an English physicist and inventor who made the first electromagnets, and invented the first practical English electric motor.-Early Life :...
, physicist and inventor (born 17831783 in Great BritainEvents from the year 1783 in the Kingdom of Great Britain.-Incumbents:*Monarch - King George III*Prime Minister - Lord Shelburne, Whig , Duke of Portland, Coalition , William Pitt the Younger, Tory-Events:...
)
- Robert Gilfillan